Trump lowers tariffs on Korea, others for 90 days, raises them on China to 125%

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Trump lowers tariffs on Korea, others for 90 days, raises them on China to 125%

Published: 10 Apr. 2025, 09:20

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

This combination of pictures shows Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Feb. 6 and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on April 8. China announced Wednesday massive retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, sharply escalating a trade war started by Trump and fueling fresh panic in global markets. [AFP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that reciprocal tariffs on countries other than China will be suspended for 90 days, while tariffs on Chinese goods will be raised to 125 percent, escalating what is increasingly shaping up to be a high-stakes trade standoff between Washington and Beijing.

In a statement posted to social media, Trump said that over 75 countries subject to reciprocal tariffs had refrained from retaliating against the United States in any form.

“I have authorized a 90 day pause, and a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff during this period, of 10 percent, also effective immediately,” Trump wrote on a social media platform Truth Social.

However, he emphasized that China would not be included in the reprieve.

“I am hereby raising the tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125 percent, effective immediately,” Trump wrote. “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”

Under the new policy, countries like Korea — which had previously been subject to a 25 percent reciprocal tariff — will see those duties lowered to 10 percent for 90 days, as long as they are not China.

The announcement comes amid a tit-for-tat trade battle between the United States and China. On April 2, after Trump imposed a 34 percent tariff on Chinese goods, Beijing vowed to respond with matching tariffs starting Thursday.

Trump then countered with an executive order imposing 84 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, prompting China to retaliate with the same rate, effective Thursday at 12:01 p.m. local time in China. With Tuesday’s announcement of a 125 percent tariff, the confrontation has reached new heights.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the decision to temporarily ease tariffs for other countries was aimed at calming global markets.

“People were getting nervous and scared, so I did it,” he said.

As for the sharp increase in tariffs on China, Trump cited Beijing’s retaliatory actions.

“I had promised that any retaliation would be met with double the response,” he said. “China retaliated, so I followed through.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier told reporters that the decision to delay tariffs was not driven by recent stock market volatility.

“It wasn’t about the market drop,” he said. “Over 75 countries reached out to us. Each case will be addressed individually, and the president wants to be directly involved in those negotiations. That’s why the 90-day pause was granted.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY KIM HYONG-GU [[email protected]]